Progressive construction of poured concrete walls



Feb. 22, 1955 E. P. CLARKE 2,702,423

PROGRESSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF POURED CONCRETE WALLS Filed March 23, 1953 INVEN TOR.

EFNESTP CLARKE United States Patent PROGRESSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF POURED CONCRETE WALLS Ernest P. Clarke, Cincinnati, Ohio Application March 23, 1953, Serial No. 344,107

4 Claims. (Cl. 25-131) The present invention relates to the progressive construction of poured concrete walls, such as the walls of a building or the wall of a retaining structure, for example.

An object of the invention is to provide a method and means of progressively building up a poured concrete wall, with the elimination of the extensive and massive form-work generally erected preparatory to the pouring procedure.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the cost and expedite the procedure of constructing a poured concrete wall.

Another object is the production by simplified means and procedure, of a concrete wall of superior strength with a proper dispersion of aggregate materials throughout the length and height of the wall.

A further object is to reduce the amount of labor and the degree of skill required for the construction of a poured concrete wall.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a form section of the invention, adapted for use in the formation of a corner of a wall.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a straight form section, usable in forming an end of a wall.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a second type of corner form section, used in the same system or procedure that utilizes the form of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a shorter end form.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a straight open-ended intermediate form section, such as might be used between the sections of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the form section illustrated by Figs. 5 and 6.

It is a well known fact that the common method of constructing poured concrete walls involves an elaborate system of form-work, built generally of wood, and extending from the footing to the joist line of the building. The footage of lumber employed is considerable, and the labor and material expenses are substantial items of cost. It is therefore desirable to reduce the expense of constructing the building wall, by minimizing both the labor and the material costs, and this is one of the primary objectives of the present invention.

Under the new system of my invention, the wall is to be constructed by pouring an initial perimeter course of limited height, using form sections that interlock end to end. These form sections are initially placed, in advance of pouring the concrete, in end to end relationship to conform with the outline and extent of the Wall. The sections may rest upon a previously formed footing, or other supporting surface. Once the form sections of the invention are laid, in correspondency with the desired shape and extent of the Wall to be constructed, concrete is poured into the form sections to a depth determined by the height of the sections. Thereafter, the concrete may be tamped, and permitted to set or solidify sufliciently to permit lifting of the form sections from the low wall thereby formed. The sections then will be used again, by placing them atop the low wall previously constructed, whereupon another course or stratum may be poured and tamped as before, to increase the wall height by an amount determined by the depth of the form sections. Upon solidification of the second course so produced, the form sections are again removed, and are used again and again in the manner explained, until the desired height of the wall is attained. Upon completion of the job, the form sections are easily cleaned and kept in readiness for subsequent re-use. The sections are of metal and practically indestructible, so that they may be used for an indefinite period of time. The advantage of this over lumber, is readily appreciated.

Referring to the drawing, a description will first be given of the form section illustrated by Figures 5, 6, and 7, since this section is one which is depicted in greatest detail. The characters 8 and 9 indicate a pair of identical metallic plates having ends 10 and 12, and upper and lower straight edges 13 and 14, respectively. The plates are substantially rectangular in shape, and the length thereof exceeds the height. When the form section is in use, the lower edges 14 of the plates are disposed in a horizontal common plane, and the upper edges 13 likewise rest in a horizontal plane at a higher elevation.

Means are provided for maintaining the plates 8 and 9 in parallel spaced apart relationship, with the space between the plates corresponding to the thickness of a monolithic wall to be constructed. The desired spacing of the plates may be established by means of the saddle members indicated generally by the characters 15 and 16, each of which saddle members may consist of a rigid bar of metal bent to substantial U-shape. The saddle members accordingly have spaced parallel depending arms 17 and 18 connected together at their upper ends by means of a rigid cross-piece 19. The inside faces 20 of the arms flatly abut the outside faces of the plates, as shown, and may be firmly secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of welds 21. Since the arms 17 and 18 of the saddle members embrace the exterior faces of the plates 8 and 9, the arms are necessarily spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of the wall to be constructed.

It will become manifest as the description proceeds, that the cross-pieces of the saddle members serve as handles whereby the form section may be lifted bodily from the top of a wall course under formation, it being noted that the cross-pieces 19 are disposed well above the plane which includes the upper edges 13 of the metallic plates 8 and 9. As is obvious, the cross-pieces 19 may be integral with the arms 17 and 18, or if desired, they may be welded to otherwise secured to the upper ends of the arms.

Depending from each cross-piece 19, preferably midway between the ends thereof, is a support leg 22 the upper end 23 of which may be welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the cross-piece 19. The support leg 22 may depend substantially vertically from the cross-piece, and its lower end or terminus 24 is disposed at an elevation above the horizontal plane which includes the lower edges 14, 14 of the side plates 8 and 9. Leg 22 may be constructed of flat sheet metal as shown, and the side edges thereof preferably are tapered downwardly and inwardly from top to bottom. It may be noted that the terminal end 24 of the leg is of substantial width, and thereby forms a foot upon which the form section may stand upon a narrow horizontal surface, without liability to tip laterally or from side to side. This is readily evident by referring to Fig. 6, wherein the foot end 24 of the depending leg 22 is shown resting upon the upper face 25 of a poured concrete wall, with the plates 8 and 9 straddling the wall thickness. Fig. 6 indicates also the approximate difference of elevation provided between the terminal end 24 of leg 22 and the lower ends 14 of plates 8 and 9. 7

It should be understood from previous explanation, that form sections constructed in accordance with Figs. 5, 6, and 7, are in practice placed end to end in erecting a complete form for the course or stratum to be poured in progressively building up a monolithic wall to any desired height. It is therefore desirable that the ends of successive form sections be interlocked or interfitted, in order to impart the desired rigidity to the whole form structure. This interlocking or interfitting of form section ends may be accomplished very simply by permitting the corresponding'ends 10 of the plates 8 and 9 to extend beyond thedepending arms Hand 18 of saddle member- 16, whereas as at the opposite end of the form section, the plate ends 12 terminate Within the width of the saddle member arms, as determined by their edges 26 and 27. Thus it will be appreciated that the extending ends or tongues 10; 10 of one form section may beinserted into the socket at 12 of an adjacent formsection, to maintain perfect alignment of the side plates of any number of form sections placed in end to end relationship. The construction just described is very clearly illustrated by Fig. 5 of the drawing.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that a wall ofany length may be poured using an infinite number of straight form sections of the .typeillustrated by Figs. 5, 4111GT. However, when an. end of the wall is to be formed, it is desirable to incorporate in the'form structure a form section such asFig; 4 illustrates, in which'one'end of-ithe form section is closed by means of an endpanel 28 hich spans corresponding ends of the side plates 8 and 9-. Theend closure-panel 28 may be made inte ral with the plates 8. and 9, orif desired, it may be welded or oth rwise sui ably secured thereto. The and closure panel .28isof solid material. and its vertical dimension is the same as that of the side plates 8 and 9. The free ends 29:and 30 of the plates indicated upon Fig. 4 obviously maybe caused to abut the ends 12,- 12 of the plates as shown in Fi 7 to effect the interlock previ uslyreferred. to. U on Fig. 4. the inverted U-shaped saddle members are indicated'at 31 and 32; and the characters 33." indicate the support le s corresponding to that depicted at 22 upon Fi 6. The side plates of theend f rmsection of Fi 4 are. ofthe same hei ht as the corres nding plates of Fi 7, and are spaced apart the same distance. Althou h-the dimensionsof the plates 8 and 9- are subiect to: variation Within the scopeof the present invention. it has been found satisfactory to make them two r three feetin len th. and eight or ten inches high. These dimensions are here givenmerely for the purp se of disclosing-approximate proportions, and are not to be understood as limit-ing the invention in any way.

Theend form section illustrated by Fi 2 is constructed in precisely t-hesarne manner as that of Fig. 4; but differs therefrom only in the length of the sideplates 8" and'9. Ifihje purpose of this distinction'will be explained'hereim Whenconstructing walls for a building, it is invariably necessary'to provide for the formation of corners. and the system ofthepresent invention therefore incorporates. corner: form sections as illustrated by- Figs. 1 and 3. Referringto Fig; 1, it may be noted that the side plates consist of'angularly dis sed anels 3435 and 36 -37; panel 34 being arran ed, a ri ht angles. to. panel 35. and panel 36 beingat ri ht angles to panel 37. The panels areof'the samehei ht as plates 8 and 9' of the other sections" reviously described. and are joined at the corners 38 and 39; Tf preferred. the parts 34 and .35 may beintegral. and the same applies. to he parts;36' and 37." The usual" inverted U-sha ed saddle member 40, constructed in accordance with Fig. 7; is welded or otherwise fixedly secured to panels. 34 and. 36? near the free ends 41 and 42, with the ends located inwardly of .the'

outer edge 43 of the saddle member so as to form sockets at 41and 42" for reception. of extending tongues; for ex-.

ample as illustrated at 44 and'45 of Fig. 2.. By this means,

a previously explained. the sections illustrated by Figs. 1 and jmay be tinterfitted or locked together in the interest: ofj'rig'idity of theform structure. At the free ends 46 and 4,7 of the panels 35 and 37, the construction is duplicated with the use of a. saddle member ,48. A; joint may be established at 46' and 47, with the extending ends or of any of the form sections previously descr1, e

At 50 'and 51 are indicated the; supportlegsgdepending from. the cross-pieces of the saddle members 40 and 48, this being in construction. identical with- Figs. 6. and1 7. However, irath'e case of thecorner form section,,a thirdr supporting-kg 52 is required if the cornerform; section is expected to stand upon. its legs unassisted. To providea mount for ,thelegSZ, an auxilliar-y brace 53 comprising an. upright arm 54- and a horizontal arm 55 :may l e-secured.v

to the form se tion; The auxilliary-brace may. be in the' form ofz a metal: bar: bent; at right angles: toestablish the amps-5,4 and 5 5: 54' maybe WfildCd'iOl? otherwise,

secured to the outer face of panel 34, whereas the free enda56 of the horizontal arm-55 is similarly fixedto the cross-piece of saddle mmeber 48, preferably intermediate the ends thereof. Arm 55 may be in the same plane as the handles or cross-pieces of saddle members 40 or 48, while the arm 54 abuts and embraces the outer face of panel 34. Arm 54 may extend approximately to the lower edge of panel 34, much thesame as arm 18 of Fig. 7 extends to, thelower edge 14 of panel 9.

The foregoing description of theFigure 1 corner form section applies as well to Fig. 3, wherein corresponding parts are indicated'by the same referencecharacters with the numeral 1 prefixed thereto. It is believed unnecessary to repeat-for Figure 3, the sameexplanation thatapplies to Figure l.

The operation of the form systemis as follows. Assume an existing rectangular footing for a building, which footing has a smooth and level upper face. It being necessary to begin the formation of an upright monolithic wall upon the footing, thernechanic may place a corner form section of Fig. 1 upon the footing at the corner of the building, and then withthe use of a series of straight sections. as disclosed by Fig. 7, he proceedsto erect an interlocked form assembly all along two sides of the building, until other corners of the footing are reached. At such other corners, the mechanic inserts in the form assembly such additional .corner forms as may be necessary: for followingv thefooting. With the use of corner form sections and straight form sections all interlocked together, there'is finally completed a continuous form atop the footing; Upon completion of the form assembly,'plastic.concrete may be poured through the open tops of the various form sections, until there is established a continuousv poured wall on top of. the footing all the way around.- As will. be understood, the form sections will be filled with concrete to the tops of the side plates of all the .form sections. The plastic concrete may be tampedi or vibrated in the usual manner, to avoid the formation of pits or voids. It may be noted that the dependinglegs 22 of'the straight form sections and the corresponding legs of all other. form sections, will be embedded in the concrete.

After the. concrete'has set or solidified sufficiently to support itself, the mechanic will remove the form sec tions in succession, lifting them bodily upward by means oftthe cross-pieces or handles such as 15 and 16, 3132, 40-48 and 148. The fact that the support legs are taperedv as .previously explained, facilitates withdrawal or extraction of the support legs from the partially solidified monolithic mass.

After all of the form sections have been so removed, there will be upstanding upon the footing a wall course such: as is indicatedat 60 of Fig. 6. The next step of the procedure, is to again place all of the form sections in continuous end to end relationship, upon the upper surface 25 of the wall course previously established. At this stageof the procedure, it will be noted from Fig. 6 that the depending legs of all the form sections will rest upon the top of wall course 60,- with the side plates of all theform sections slightly overlapping the'vertical. sides of the wall course. In order that the depending support legs; may not enter the openings from which they were" withdrawn incident to'production of the first wall course 60, the;corner form. sections of Figures 1 and 3 may be;- used alternatively 'in the formation of' alternate wall height of .the wall, is attained.

In:-the-event='thatthe-"wall is to beprovidedwith door oewindow openings; end form sections such as are-illu's-- tra'ted' by Figs. 2 and 4 may be appropriately incorpo rated in" the form assembly as the wall is progressively built up.

From the'foregoing description and explanation, it-will readilybe:appreciated that the walls of a building or other structure-rte be produced with. the: use. of concrete ora' like; substance,.- maybe progressively built up withrthe use.- ofa: very; simple and :inexpensiveiformmorlc The The procedure above de scribed-maybe repeated again andagain untilthe desired form sections are easy to handle, and may be transported from one job to another with much less labor and expense than is experienced with the use of wood forms, or other types of metal forms heretofore proposed.

It is noteworthy that form ties and spacers are completely eliminated in the practice of this invention, thereby effecting substantial savings of time, labor, and materials, while at the same time producing a wall which is impervious to water and insects. The usual reinforcing steel rods may be incorporated in the wall construction, as will be evident.

The form sections of this invention are very durable and will withstand severe abuse. Moreover, they may easily be cleaned, are resistant to warping and the efiects of weather, and will never bulge or collapse under the strain imposed by plastic concrete. Other advantages of the invention have been recited hereinbefore, and need not be repeated here.

In conclusion, it may be pointed out that the form sections may be constructed of any appropriate metal or other suitable material. If necessary or desirable, the inverted U-shaped saddle members may be reinforced with gussets or otherwise, at the upper bands or corners, particularly if light gauge metal is used in constructing them. Moreover, the use of channel iron, T-iron, or angle iron, amongst other possible shapes, is contemplated in forming the saddle members. contemplated also, in the event of light construction, is the use of reinforcing angle bars or their equivalent, along the lower and/or upper edges of the side plates exteriorly of the form section. These and other modifications and changes in structural details may be resorted to, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A form section for the progressive construction of monolithic walls including hydraulic cement, said form section comprising a pair of narrow parallel plates spaced apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the wall to be constructed, said plates having opposite ends and straight upper and lower edges, the distance between the opposite ends of one plate being in excess of the distance between the upper and lower edges of the same plate, a plurality of saddle members each of inverted U- shape and each including a pair of upright arms of substantial width, and a cross-piece connecting the upper ends of the arms, said arms of each saddle member being parallel and spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the wall thickness, means securing corresponding ends of the plates to the inside faces of the arms of one saddle member, with the plate ends disposed along a vertical line substantially bisecting the width of the arms, so that said one saddle member extends beyond the ends of the plates, means securing the arms of a second saddle memher to the outside faces of the plates adjacent to the remaining ends of the plates, with said remaining plate ends extended beyond the second saddle member, and

form section support legs depending from the saddle cross-pieces, downwardly between the plates, and having lower termini located above a plane which includes the lower edges of the plates.

2. A form section in accordance with claim 1, wherein the support legs are tapered inwardly and downwardly to facilitate upward extraction thereof from cementitious material solidified within the confines of the form section, and the lower termini of the legs being of substantial width to resist lateral tipping of the form section when resting upon said legs.

3. A corner form section for the progressive construction of monolithic walls including hydraulic cement, said form section comprising two plates each having angularly disposed panels in parallelism and spaced apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the wall to be constructed, said panels having corresponding free ends and upper and lower edges, a plurality of saddle members each of inverted U-shape, and each including a pair of upright arms and a cross-piece connecting the upper ends of the arms, said arms of each saddle member being parallel and spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the wall thickness, means securing the arms of one saddle member to the outside faces of two corresponding panels near the free ends thereof, means securing the arms of a second saddle member to the outside faces of the remaining panels near the free ends of the latter, form section support legs depending from the saddle cross-pieces, downwardly between the panels, and having lower termini located above a plane which includes the lower edges of the panels, an auxiliary brace comprising an upright arm and a horizontal arm, each having a terminal end, means securing the terminal end of the horizontal brace arm transversely to a cross-piece of one of the saddle members, means securing the upright arm of the brace to an exterior face of one of the panels, and a form section support leg depending from the horizontal arm of the brace intermediate the ends of the latter, said leg last mentioned having a terminal end located at an elevation within the form section corresponding to the elevation of the terminal ends of the saddle member legs.

4. A corner form section in accordance with claim 3, wherein the saddle members cooperate with the free ends of the panels to provide sockets receptive of the ends of other form sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 789,988 Metcalf May 16, 1905 882,196 Hahn Mar. 17, 1908 943,991 Nelson Dec. 21, 1909 1,173,229 Van Guilder Feb. 29, 1916 1,250,394 Van Guilder Dec. 18, 1917 1,402,906 Smith Jan. 10, 1922 1,414,288 Knudson Apr. 25, 1922 1,447,283 Davis Mar. 6, 1923 

